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AFTER discussing plans with Lord Raiya, the head maid, and head lady-in-waiting, I was alone in my room when Suzuiro came in. She was going to accompany me to the secret summit in Centoria.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“Lady Sai, um…” Her large eyes were wide, and she cast them down, fidgeting with her fingers.
The evening sun shone bright on her silvery hair, the strands the color of tin, just like her name. I contemplated the sunset then turned to Suzuiro. A very nostalgic scene materialized in my mind. “Ah, that reminds me…”
She blinked. “Yes?”
“I met you during a beautiful sunset just like today’s, didn’t I? You said that you were scared of ghosts and greeted me in a very loud voice… It feels like years ago.”
“You’re right…” As Suzuiro looked at me, she must have recalled the moment as well, because she turned to gaze at the setting sun too. “Back then, I never imagined that I would spend so much time and do so much work with the Wagtail Priestess I admire.”
“Thank you, Suzuiro. Because you were there with me, I always knew someone had my back in Orient.”
Her eyes grew wide and wet. Large, hot tears welled and slid down her cheeks.
“If it’s all right with you,” I suggested, “how about we bathe together, just like on that first day?”
“Yes! Of course!”
We headed to the baths. Back then, the palace had been entirely foreign to us both and had boasted only a handful of maids and a single court lady. That day, as we walked, however, we encountered multiple maids who inquired whether we needed any help, while court ladies bowed to us in the distance.
Passing by the entrance to the medicine storage rooms, we inhaled the strong stench of unguents. The garden had been neatly pruned in preparation for the snowy season. The furniture and ornaments throughout the building and grounds were polished and shiny. Indeed—Sekirei Palace had become a beautiful place we could take pride in.
“Lady Sai!” chirped Suzuiro merrily. She had skipped ahead of me. “We came at a good time! The baths are ready! Let’s go!” She turned around and startled, asking me, “Lady Sai, are you…crying?”
“Hu…h?” I touched my cheek, and my fingertips came away moist.
“Are you hurt anywhere?!” exclaimed Suzuiro. “Um, or maybe, are you scared of going back to Centoria?!” She looked anxious and restless as she ran to me.
She wasn’t the only one. The kitchen maids, the court ladies nearby, and even the attendant who had informed Suzuiro about the baths hurtled toward me from every corner out of concern.
“Lady Sai, are you all right?”
“My lady…”
“Lady Sai!”
In Centoria, after I lost my parents, I had felt as if I was all alone in the world. No one stopped to pay attention to the witch with creepy black hair; merely surviving every day had taken everything out of me. When I was down with a cold, when I was crushed by sorrow, everyone had ignored me: my fiancé, his family, and the members of the Order.
But someone like me had gained the support of so many people in Orient, and with their help, I had found my happiness. Now…I’m the most fortunate person in the world.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m just so…so happy… Sorry, I’ll stop soon…” Yet my tears kept flowing.
Suzuiro gave me a big hug. The energetic, talkative girl was quiet as she offered me comfort—she simply wrapped her arms around me tight. I had the sense that she had grown a little taller, and her hair had lengthened significantly as well. Emotion overwhelmed my heart. The girl I had once thought I needed to help and watch over had transformed into a splendid court lady.
“Lady Sai, we’re here for you,” Suzuiro said with a big, reliable smile. “Let’s deal with all this troublesome business so that you can come back and find happiness with His Majesty.”
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Chapter One Hundred Nine: A Kiss in the Sky
OVER half a year had passed since Emperor Haruka saved me and brought me to Orient. It had been the very beginning of summer then, and currently it was late autumn, a chilly hint of snow threading through the breeze. I was departing the Orient Empire that day to travel by carriage to my homeland in Centoria.
A shower of papercut flowers, sekka, rained on us in blessing as our carriage pressed on. From the window, I could see the mountains were dyed crimson with the final autumnal coat of the year. The higher altitudes were already dusted with a layer of white snow.
I was wearing several thick layers of clothing, and Emperor Haruka wrapped his wings around me. “Are you cold?” he asked in a tender voice as he stroked my hair.
“I’m all right… Your wings are warm.”
His lips found the earlobe he had pierced. Ticklish, I squirmed a little, and he let out a small, throaty laugh. “This brings me back. It reminds me of when we traveled this highway into Orient.”
“It makes me nostalgic too. Back then…we were in the same carriage, and I was nervous the entire time.”
I had felt utterly overwhelmed—by the sudden fortune that had fallen into my lap, by my memories of the plot that dictated Emperor Haruka’s doomed future, and by his stunning looks. By the people of Orient who had been very kind to me, who had always been scorned or ignored in Centoria. By the friendly maids. By the delightful food I had been served at an inn. By the happiness of sharing a meal and laughter with people around the same table.
What I had suddenly experienced was a kind of bliss that I used to think I would never feel again after my parents passed away. Yes, that’s right… After their “deaths,” I had felt helpless, pained. Since I’d learned that they were alive and in good health, I instead felt restless whenever I thought of them. I want to see them soon. I want to see their faces again. I want to meet my younger sister. I wonder what she looks like.
Emperor Haruka pulled me to him once again, adjusting my position in his arms. He held me firm against his warm chest, and I could feel the thumping of his heart.
“Sai. Your pulse must be racing this time as well, right?”
“Yes, but it’s for a different reason… I… Whenever I feel you, touch you, I…”
“Ha ha. Me too.”
Emperor Haruka squeezed me tight and covered me with his wings. He refused to let go of me even for a second. It was as if he wanted to spend every instant remaining of his life on me—he was always patting me, whispering to me, kissing me on my forehead.
“I love you, Sai,” he murmured, as he so often did lately. “My beloved little wagtail.”
Although we were on our way to eliminate the Saint of Centoria, Emperor Haruka wasn’t acting any differently. That was out of kindness to me. Moments alone with him were precious. He knew that his remaining time was limited, flowing away like sand in an hourglass, and wanted to give me as many seconds of happiness as he could. One by one, he etched them into my mind and soul, each a prayer that I would feel like I was glad to have been born.
“Emperor Haruka, I’m happy…” I pressed my cheek against his chest and closed my eyes. Although our wedding was still far off, spring was already by my side.